Pot Still: A traditional still used to distil single malt whisky, among other varieties. Pot Stills are almost exclusively made of copper and are based upon the alembic still, created around the eighth century AD by the Arabian alchemist Jabi ibn Hayyan. Alcohol liquid is heated to a temperature at which the alcohol evaporates, though below the temperature at which water evaporates. Thus the gaseous vapours are more concentrated with alcohol. They are condensed at the top of the still and the spirituous liquid is collected. The term alembic derives from the Arabic ‘Al-inbiq’ or ‘still’, itself from the Greek for cup, ‘Ambix’. Whilst we’re enjoying etymology, it is interesting to learn that the term distillation derives from the Latin ‘to drop down’, referring to the dropping down of condensed spirit.
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